Illness
by ShatteredHeart98
Summary: Sumire has fallen ill due to a troublesome virus, but Lucia just thinks she's afraid of fighting. When things take a turn for the worst, will Lucia bring herself to save her newest friend? Or will the weak friendship break completely?
1. Weaknesses

**Illness**

**Chapter One**

**Weaknesses**

"Sumire, move it!"

Lucia's words cut through the chaotic turmoil and reached my ears successfully. I quickened my pace over the cold, dew wet grass, panting as the effort tore at my chest and my lungs begged for more air. I could hear gunfire behind me as Lucia tried to kill the virus that gave chase. She growled in annoyance as her empty bullets fell to the ground and I could hear her getting closer.

"Faster, Sumire!" she cried from almost directly beside me. "Run faster!"

In my two months of being a part of the Vanguard, I had never had such a pathetic performance in battle. The past week had been terrible for me, and it seemed to be getting worse. My movements were sluggish, my heart always pounding, my chest tight. I couldn't think without my head aching and I couldn't eat without feeling ill. I felt so fragile that every footstep I took rattled my body entirely and I half expected to fall into pieces on the floor.

Another bullet roared through the air and the virus squealed from behind me. Lucia's furious face appeared beside me, her single blue eye burning me with it's gaze. "Sumire, keep running! Stop slowing down!"

I was trying. I truly was, but try telling that to the woman with a body of steel. She could keep this up all night, and with me as her dead weight, that was a very likely possibility. My legs felt like cement that hardened with every second. I was getting even slower despite her anger, and she eventually gave up on the idea of yelling at me and clasped my arm in her iron grip. She dragged me across the grass, practically carrying me in the one hand, then threw me into the shadows of a nearby tree. It was rough, but it had saved my life and I lay face down in the dirt and wet, grateful that I was still breathing despite the pain in caused me.

Using what strength that still remained in me, I lifted my head an inch to glance over the gleaming grass. Lucia was kneeling on her knees, flicking her gun shut as the case covered the new bullets. Without a single hesitation, she lifted her arms and fired five straight shots at the looming virus that was little more than a shadow amongst the trees.

Each bullet hit the giant of darkness, each hit rewarding Lucia with a scream of inhuman agony. A crash came as the last bullet bit into it's target and the virus dissolved into the earth.

Lucia released a deep breath and slipped her gun into the holster. She didn't waste any time. Without even glancing at me as I gasped for air against the ground, she turned and peered through the trees. A beam of light tore through the darkness and hit her in a bright burst. She raised a hand in greeting and finally gave me her attention.

"Nahashi's here. Let's get going." Her words still held their bite.

I nodded weakly and pulled my arms out from beneath myself where they had laid crumpled and lifeless. I pushed myself up from the mud, every muscle drained of strength. I knew before I slipped against the tree limply that I wouldn't be able to rise on my own, but I had hoped that I wouldn't look as pathetic as I felt.

Trying her best to hide a scowl, Lucia turned back to the car in the distance and raised three fingers. 'Give me three minutes' she was saying before she turned to me and staked over through the shadows. I felt like I was being cornered by a virus and I struggled to my feet. Unfortunately I only managed to shuffle against the tree and press my back into the bark painfully.

Lucia's feet stopped in front of me and she peered down with her blazing stare. "What was that?"

The 'that' she was referring to was the entire hour that had passed that I had spent struggling to stay on my feet let alone strike the enemy. I hung my head. "I still don't feel well."

Her sigh of impatience made me bow my head further. "Still? Sumire, what can possibly make you as weak as a kitten for over a weak when you are a berserker? You're supposed to be able to handle illnesses now that you have this power!"

I winced under her words, but dared to speak my thoughts. "You're saying that I'm lying?" I hated it when someone made such accusations.

She clenched her jaw. "I don't understand what it is that can affect you so badly. You almost got the both of us killed."

"What do you think it is then?" I asked softly, almost pleading for her to grace me with an answer as no one else seemed to know, my brief flash of anger replaced with a desperate ask.

She turned her back to me, her shoulders stiff. She was swift. "I think you're weak." With that blow she walked away towards the car without stopping again.

Her words had hurt me more than she would realise for some time and I fought back against a wave of despair. I was sick. I knew I was. My body felt as though it were shutting down, and I couldn't sleep at night. I was plagued by nightmares of a virus in the body of a man. He would laugh at me without words, or stare with his piercing eyes. It filled me with such raw terror that I would wake without a single second of sleep more. It was after I awoke that I felt the true weight of the sickness fall upon me and I would vomit or collapse out of the bed, or even develop a fever.

At first, Lucia had helped me. She treated me the first two nights, then as it continued she became tired of me waking her and impatient with my actions the next day. She no longer believed that I was sick, but that I was simply having bad dreams and using it to escape the fights that scared me so much.

_Like a child, _I thought sadly. _She thinks I'm a child, pretending to be sick when I am truly too pathetic to fight. _She was wrong though, I was suffering, my body inside and out always in pain. Even now my stomach felt as though it was being burned from the inside and I clutched it tightly.

Lucia and I had a weak friendship despite my attempts to strengthen it, and this didn't help. We needed time, but now I felt it would require much more. She needed to believe me, and I needed to gain her trust back.

Footsteps approached, twigs broke, and I sank back against the tree. If it was an enemy, let them consume me. I was defeated.

"Sumire? Do you need help?"

Nahashi stood before me, his twinkling eyes always brightening his leather face. His hand was offered to me and I took it gratefully, allowing him to pull me up to my feet. He caught me about the waist as my knees buckled and led me through all of the trees. I leant against him, hoping that I wouldn't vomit on his always delicate suit.

In the car I saw Lucia, staring out of the opposite window even as I slipped in beside her with Nahashi's hands holding me the entire way. I rested against the soft chair and closed my eyes, but quickly opened them again as I felt the dream waiting just beyond the border of consciousness. He was always waiting, this virus.

Nahashi started the car, peering over his shoulder at me. "You should get some rest when we get back, Sumire. You look terrible." He believed me when I told him I was sick, but no matter what he gave me as treatment, I remained ill.

Lucia sighed heavily as she stared out of her window. "You could have gotten killed tonight with your weakness, Sumire. Try harder, or I won't be there to protect you."

I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from crying out. I had truly messed things up tonight.

Nahashi clucked his tongue. "Lucia, she can't help it."

"Yes she can, she just chooses not to."

"Lucia..."

My eyes pricked with tears and my gaze fell from her angry face to her arm that was wrapped in bandages. A night ago we had been in another battle and I had been just as poor in my performance due to the illness that had claimed me. I had been close to being impaled by a virus when Lucia had taken the blow for me, the clawed hand cutting deeply into her upper arm as she shot the virus dead.

"Sumire, are you even trying?" she had asked, grunting in pain as her arm throbbed. "Do you want to get killed?"

I was in shock, staring at the beads of blood that rolled down her arm. "Lucia... I'm so sorry you got hurt because of me!"

She stood, wiping at the blood hastily. "Yeah, so am I." She turned and walked away from me like tonight in the trees, and like tonight I had felt my heart split open.

_I only wish she could be proud of me,_ I thought as I turned away from the furious girl. _That's all I have ever wanted._

Nahashi caught my distress in the mirror and turned back to me. "Maybe you just need to get more sleep." He didn't know of the nightmares. I didn't want to tell him in case he experimented on me. That was the last thing I needed.

"She needs more practice. It's not this 'incurable sickness' she thinks she has." Lucia was fuming, using her calm voice that spelt doom for anyone who heard it.

I sank back into the softness of the car seat. "Lucia, I'm sorry..."  
"See how things are tomorrow, Lucia," Nahashi decided, his eyes locked onto hers in the mirror. "Maybe things will be better tomorrow."

Lucia huffed and turned away, muttering, 'not likely.'

She was right. It wouldn't get any better.

It would only get worse.

_Author's Note - Sorry if this is sounding like Sumire's bashing. It's not meant to. It'll get much better, don't worry, cause I love her :) Also, the chapters will get longer, so please, please review and let me know what you thought!_

_ ShattteredHeart98_


	2. Falling Apart

**Chapter Two**

**Falling Apart**

The next day had proved to be what I had expected. It was worse than before. I had woken without a moment of sleep, not wanting to experience the nightmare with the virus in the form of a man. Instead I had sat up, unable to stop the tears as they flowed, whilst Lucia sat with a pillow covering her ears.

She had told me three days ago once she had convinced herself that I was merely too afraid to fight that as soon as there was a spare room, she would be taking it. If that happened, I would be more alone than I felt, but I couldn't stop her.

I pulled myself out of bed that morning, my eyes gritted and heavy. Not even the shower could wake me up, but the added heat to my already burning body made me feel too light headed to spend more than five minutes under the water.

I spent longer than usual struggling to get my clothes on as my body was too weak to listen to my demands. I fell numerous times and lay against the ground, gasping for air. My lungs were tight, and with every painful breath my stomach churned.

"Sumire, hurry up!"

Lucia was at the door, her patience wearing thin. I heard her feet fall heavily on the ground as she stalked away. I sighed. I had to prove myself to her today.

I had to.

I left the room with my gun and knife attached, my hunting gear fitted on, and my body language suggesting that nothing was wrong. Lucia stepped back into the room, shot me an icy stare, then walked right out of the shop without even waiting for me. Apparently the mission had begun.

As I hurried after her, Nahashi caught my arm tightly in his grip.

"Sumire, are you feeling any better today?"

I nodded, a lie. "Yes. Much better."

He smiled with relief, his entire face lighting up. "That's really good to hear."

Laura stood in the kitchen archway, a bowel of chocolate flavoured cereal in her hand, the spoon in her mouth. She pulled it out and nodded her head at the door. "You'd better hope so. Lucia's in a really bad mood today."

I knew why. I had kept her up all night as I cried.

"Don't worry about her, Sumire. Just do your best, and come back safe."

_Come back safe. I don't know about that._

Laura's eyes examined me thoroughly as I readjusted my belt and headed for the door. She didn't know much more than Nahashi, that I had been feeling a little ill and therefore hadn't been on top of my hunting game. She believed me unlike Lucia, but I sensed that she knew it was something more. Either that, or she was suspecting.

I was grateful to be out of that shop and away from her curious stare. I liked her and considered her a friend like Nahashi and Lucia, but she was good and finding the information she wanted, and I feared she would learn about my true condition if she searched deep enough. Who knew what would unfold then.

"Sumire, there you are!" Lucia's voice was hot with anger. "I've been waiting for about ten minutes for you!"

Despite being a woman of perfection, Lucia still tended to exaggerate.

"Well? What took you? Did you have a prior commitment?"

I winced under her words and shook my head. "I was just feeling-"

She cut me off. "Oh, let me guess. You were feeling ill? Like you have been for the past week, like you were last night?" Her eyes were rimmed with black rings. "Nice try, but you're still not convincing me. You're just afraid of your power."

When she spoke to me like this I felt my chances of her considering me a friend were depleting rapidly. I never got angry at her when she was like this. I felt guilty, knowing that it was probably to do with me. In this case, it obviously was.

"You'll be leading the way today," she announced, finally showing a grin that looked dangerous and smug. "I'll prove to you that you can do it in the only way I can. I'll put you in harms way so you can deal with the pressure and finally do something useful."

My stomach plummeted and I began to plan out what I wanted on my gravestone. There was no way I could pull this off. I barely survived when Lucia was leading.

"To the park," she said, nodding her head in the direction. "Apparently someone saw a huge one in there and they think it's after their family." She shrugged as though it meant nothing, but I knew inside she was concerned for her client.

She was always like that, pretending she didn't care when she protected those clients with her life. She had done the same for me those weeks back when I had first come to the vanguard, but now everything had changed because she thought I was a liar.

I missed her protecting me without making me feel bad for it afterwards. I missed the old Lucia that trusted me and believed in my potential, the Lucia that had stayed up with me at night once the nightmares had started and sat with me until I fell asleep again.

"Get ready. I can sense something."

I hadn't even realised we had reached the park so quickly. Immediately I pulled my gun from it's side pocket and stepped into the trees, Lucia's feet falling close behind. The silence was sudden, no animals making a sound, and I felt we were the only two there. My nerve ground on edge.

As I searched through the dark shadows of the trees, I felt the nausea wash over me again and an explosion of heat pulsed in my head. I gripped at it with my free hand, but kept my eyes open and my gun aimed. I had to prove to Lucia that I could do this. I had to fight through.

"Feeling sick again?" Lucia was on the brim of taunting, but she kept her voice controlled.

I grimaced as pain tore through my stomach and chest like a knife. It was always abrupt. "I'll be fine."

"Good," Lucia answered, pointing ahead. "Because I believe that is the virus we're after."

It was massive, to say the least. It was one of the usual blobs, only three times the size and much more intimidating. It was black with light red stripes covering its glutinous body. It's mouth was a wide open gap that let out a putrid breath that only made me feel worse. On it's sides were tendrils that snapped in the air like whips. One single red eye peered at me, locking with my gaze.

"Better do something, Sumire! You make the first move!" Lucia yelled in my ear, pushing me froward by the small of my back. "Prove to yourself that you can actually fight or I've wasted all of this time!"

My feet stumbled on the earth, and knees buckling from fear and weakness. I almost fell, but caught myself. I had to fight. The gun was cold in my hand as I plucked it from my belt and aimed.

I fired.

Nothing.

From behind me, Lucia swore. "It's too big!"

My strength was already falling away. Soon I would end up as I had yesterday, too slow to move, but I had the feeling Lucia wouldn't save me this time. Not until I was within an inch of my life, but I couldn't even tell how long I would last. I could barely breathe as I stepped backwards shakily.

Lucia fired upon the beast, her bullets leaving no more of a mark than mine had. She swore as she shot at the virus, again and again, her eyes flicking over to me every few seconds.

I saw fear in those eyes.

"Sumire! Do something!"

I nodded, knowing I had only one chance to prove myself to her and save the day. I turned my gun onto myself, pressing the end to my head, and pulled the trigger.

I had grown used to shooting myself in the head. I knew it wouldn't be the death of me. I was floating in the air, my head throbbing where the bullet had entered. It was wedged inside of me, pulsating out strength that only I could use. I gripped onto it, the bullet vanished, the pain was gone, and I was in the body of a berserker.

Everything was buzzing with life and my senses went wild. I could smell souls from a mile away, hear the movements as Lucia snapped a twig with a backward step, see the monsters attacks before they hit me. I lifted my hand and knocked one of the tendrils away as they raced at me. It was effortless, and I felt healthy again.

Until I became Sumire and the berserker form fell away.

"What are you doing?" Lucia thought I had reverted on purpose. She fired another shot at the virus, scowling. "Change back, you idiot! Change back!"

I couldn't. I tried to tap into the strength again, but it had all faded away rapidly. Panicking, I shot myself again, but this time I didn't even enter the form. The bullet disappeared from where it had entered and I fell into the dense undergrowth, panting and sweating. "I-I can't do it."

"Sumire!" Lucia roared, re-loading her gun hastily. "If you can't do anything, than move!"

I complied and shuffled away to the nearest tree. My body was aching and I heaved it up against the bark, shaking. I was too weak to even become a berserker? What was happening to me?

Lucia killed the virus minutes later, firing bullets into every part of it's body until it collapsed in on itself and disappeared as suddenly as it had come. There was silence, but I knew it wouldn't last long. Lucia straightened up, turned to me, and approached.

"Sumire, I've decided."

I lifted my head up weakly. "D-decided?"

She turned and faced the direction of the city, unable to look at me. "From now on you will be working in the shop and training with me, and that's all. I will take Laura or Nahashi out on these job assignments with me, and in the meantime I will train you until you are ready to finally use your power." She spoke quietly, almost whispering, but I knew better than to think she was calm. This just meant that she was angrier than she had been before.

Questions raged in my mind. I wanted to know how long she would be training me, what she would do if she needed a berserker, if this meant that she hated me. They were a torrent that threatened to drown me. I chose one question that surfaced and frightened me the most.

"Lucia... do you regret hiring me?"

She looked shocked at the question, her stance falling for a moment. Quickly she regathered herself and answered. "So far, yes."

My blood went icy cold as her words hit me, and the world grew only colder as she walked away from me again, her eyes looking forward and never back at me.

Since I had been banned from going on the missions with Lucia, she hadn't said a word to me. Whenever I was in her presence, icy chills swept up my back. I had moved out of our shared bedroom and slept on the couch instead, refusing any other rooms. I couldn't sleep anyway, so I stayed up and watched TV, watching as different realities helped me escape from my own.

My illness was worsening. When I did fall asleep, I fell into the hands of the virus.

"_Ahh, Sumire," _he would say now. _"Let me take you out of that world and give you a taste of the darkness."_

I spent the fourth night since that day on the armrest of the couch, my arms tight about myself as I stared at the door that led to Lucia. How she must hate me. Nahashi had told me that she didn't hate me at all, but she was frustrated because she thought my illness was still false and that I was too afraid to fight. He was sugar coating it, which made it worse than it was. He still believed me, but only wished that she could.

Laura and I spent a lot of time together now, backing chocolate cakes and chatting about social lives we both pretended we had. It was comforting to be with her, a girl only a few years under my age that acted like a sister since Lucia had begun ignoring me. She knew not to being her up too often, which left me to concentrate on other things like school and work in the shop.

Training with Lucia was as difficult as I had expected. She was pushing me hard, too hard, and I often left the training room early to be sick. She would roll her eyes and end it for the day, letting out her fury on me the next.

Sometimes she spoke to me as she stabbed and slashed. "Are you still using the sick excuse?" she would ask not unkindly, with without a smile either.

"Lucia... I _am_... sick," I would pant, ducking and weaving.

She would sigh and let me rest for a moment. "It's a pity. You really have potential, Sumire. I really wish I could fight with you again."

I felt better after days like this. She missed me, and she admitted it, but then she would unleash hell on me as soon as I let my guard down, and all kindness would be forgotten.

I knew though, that she didn't completely hate me now.

As I rested on the edge of the couch, I realised how tired I was from the days fighting with her. I was scraped and bruised, and I could barely keep my eyes open. They threatened to slip shut, and I pinched myself.

"Have to stay away," I said aloud, repeating it until it's meaning was lost. "Have to... stay... awake..."  
Darkness enveloped me, and a figure appeared. The man, tall, strong, his short dark hair covering most of his face as his hideously sickening smile appeared on his face.

"_Sumire, are you ready for the darkness yet?"_

Tendrils of blackness like ink reached over his arms and pulled out of his skin. They came for me, twisting in the air, reaching for me until they wrapped around my throat and I began to suffocate.

_"Come to the darkness, child. You belong to the darkness."_

I awoke as fast as I had fallen asleep. I was lying amongst the cushions of the couch, shaking and panting as air re-entered my lungs. I could still hear him, laughing, the sound echoing in my mind. My body ached everywhere, that feeling came a moment later. I moved my arm, my fingers spreading on the floor. I dragged myself towards off of the couch and collapsed against the hard, cold tiles. The impact jarred my body, and pain flared through me like a spear tearing through my flesh and bone.

I couldn't cry for help. Despite my situation, I wouldn't call to Lucia. I knew she would help me. She wouldn't leave me like this, but it would damage our trust even further. I thought of calling Nahashi or Laura, but I didn't want them to know how bad this had become. No, I had to face this on my own. It would make he strong, and they wouldn't have to worry. I needed to beat this virus that was destroying me, for Lucia.

I pulled my hands out, splayed them beneath me, and pushed myself up, using the strength in my arms that burned with the pressure. I crept forward, aiming for the bathroom, my salvation and release when my body felt like it was ripping apart. I needed to let out all of the poison inside. I could feel it roiling in my stomach, the bile building. I needed the silence and the peace of that room, where I could sit on the tiles and cry without being heard with the door shut and the tap running to drown out the sound.

It seemed that when I was desperate, my strength became heightened. I dragged my broken body across the floor, slowly gaining the ability to crawl. I reached the bathroom, gripped the door, and heaved myself in. I crashed to the tiles, my stomach feeling as though it had been punctured. I held a hand to it, wincing and crying silent tears. I pulled myself up to the sink, the closest thing available, and vomited.

Blood.

The word hit me as I saw the tell-tale crimson. My throat burned and I coughed more of it into the sink, the thick blood swirling under the tap as I turned it on and disappearing down the sink.

I stared as it sank down into the blackness. "Blood...?"

It was dripping from my lip. I could feel it, warm and wet. I rose a hand to wipe it away, but the movement was too much and my vision wavered. I gripped the edge of the sink to keep myself standing and vomited again, more blood pouring out into the sink. I cried harder as it came, thinking it would never end, thinking I would bleed myself to death here.

"Sumire?"

I turned, my heart pounding. "L-Laura!"

She had seen it. Her eyes were wide, her mouth agape. "Sumire, was that... blood?"

I swallowed, the coppery taste thick in my mouth. It made me gag and I turned back to the sink, thinking I was going to be sick again. However, my body was too weak to even allow me to stand any longer. I fell back roughly to my backside. Everything was a blurred mess.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Laura rushed over in a panicked mess. She gripped my shoulders and tried to pull me up. I shuffled groggily to my feet, holding onto her for support.

"We need to tell Nahashi!" she said urgently, leading me to the door.

My heart missed a beat. "No! No, we can't Laura!"

"Then we'll tell Lucia! She has to believe you after this."

I shook my head firmly, my head light and pounding. "No, Laura, please. Don't tell either of them."

"Why?" She crossed her arms stubbornly, but she was biting her lower lip, her eyes flicking to the sink. "Sumire, this is really serious."

I nodded, my own fears grating against the edge of my threshold. How much more could I take? "I know, Laura, but I don't want them to worry. I-I have to do this on my own..." I wasn't sure if she would understand, and it seemed she didn't.

"That's ridiculous!" She waved an arm at the sink. "Blood, Sumire! Do you know how bad it is that you're coughing up blood?"

I was desperate to have her word that she wouldn't tell them, so I did something that I knew was wrong. I lied. "I can fix it. I know how to."

She lifted an eyebrow. "How? Are you going to a hospital?"

I shook my head, releasing a shaky breath. "No, but I... I know someone that has medicine for this."

"You're a liar."

I winced. "Just trust me to find a way out of this, okay? You don't know what it's like to..." I struggled to find the words, my eyes filling with fresh tears. "What it's like to feel weak. I need to figure this out." I had said it. I had said what I felt inside.

"What if you can't?"

"Then I'll come to you and you can tell them."

"What if it gets worse?"

I sighed, my fear making me frustrated easily. "If it gets worse or if I can't find a way to fix it, then I will come to you and you can do as you will." It was the only way, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Sumire..."

Thinking quickly, I hit the jackpot and smiled weakly. "I'll bake a chocolate cake for you tomorrow morning when I'm feeling better."  
Her eyes brightened for a moment. It hurt me that she gave up the last of her resolve at the mention of chocolate, and I had to remind myself that this was what I wanted. "Hmm... Alright, but as soon as it gets worse..."

I nodded. "I know."

She didn't look completely convinced as she had to help me out of the bathroom, but it was too late to go back now. She sat with me on the couch, wanting to make sure I was okay. I leaned against the armrest as she kept a close eye on me, and soon I was falling asleep, the frightening episode having sapped me of my strength.

"Sumire... please be okay." I was sure that Laura hadn't meant for me to hear it, but the quiver in her voice had captured my attention.

"Laura, thank you for keeping this quiet. I promise, I'll try my best."  
Darkness took me into it's warm embrace of sleep.


	3. Discovering the Secret

**Chapter Three**

**Discovering the Secret**

When morning came, I was already awake. At some point during my rare slumber I had been visited by the virus. His darkness had pulsed against me, his evil smile piercing me with fear.

"_Come to the darkness, Sumire. I tire of waiting." _He had reached for me, his hand coiling, the joints snapping as he laughed. _"You will be immortal, just like me. You will feel no pain, shed no tears."_

I had woken in the darkness, my exhaustion worse than before, but I wouldn't be sleeping again that night. Laura was gone, having retied to her own bed at some point during the night. I trusted that she wouldn't tell Nahashi about the blood. After all, I had promised her a chocolate cake. I decided to get a start on it then as I wouldn't be closing my eyes again.

I was silent as I mixed the ingredients, trying carefully not to wake the others. I could imagine Lucia's words: _Cooking, are we? Even when you claim to have such a sickness? You truly are amazing. _The sarcasm would be like a knife. She would never understand.

When the day set in and Laura sneaked off into her room to enjoy her cake in peace, Nahashi approached me and asked as he did every day how I was feeling. I gave him the usual lie. It was becoming frighteningly easy, though I hated the fact. He seemed so pleased when I told him I was doing better, and it tore at my heart strings.

Lucia emerged already clad in her hunting gear, her daggers gleaming at her sides as she loaded her gun. Her eyes flicked over to me, then she turned away and headed for the door with Nahashi hurrying behind. It was me and Laura for the day, but she would take her time savouring the cake. So, in other words, I was on my own, and I felt the true cold chill of that realisation with every hour.

I did what I had been assigned to do: I dealt with the customers, cleaned the store, managed the store room, and struggled to stay awake and stop myself from vomiting all over the newly polished cabinets.

My mind was troubled as I worked. I was thinking of myself instead of Lucia, thinking what sort of damage the virus was doing to me if I was throwing up blood in the sink. My stomach had felt as though it were being cut into by razors. He couldn't possibly have access to me physically... could he? I had always thought it was the trauma that was making me sick, the dreams messing with my sleep and my head.

I was worrying myself, thinking like this, but I had a good reason to be worried. After all, as far as I knew, there was no cure. I didn't even know if anyone would be able to diagnose me. For once, I considered seeing a doctor seriously, but if they couldn't find any answers, what was left of Lucia's trust for me would be obliterated, if it hadn't been already.

I had been thinking for longer than I had realised. The clock chimed, and barely a second later Lucia and Nahashi stepped through the door. I stood beside the cleanest chest of drawers, each opening to show a glinting set of jewellery. I had hoped that it would catch her attention, and to my utter shock... it did.

She stepped over towards me, her eyes taking in the shop interior that had been cleaned so thoroughly that everything sparkled. Behind her, Nahashi opened his mouth to praise me, but thought better of it as Lucia smiled for the first time in days.

"This is really good work, Sumire," she said, however her smile faded as she saw my hopeful shock, and her eyes were directed over my shoulder. I stepped to the side to capture their attention, but she blinked and stared at the floor instead. "Perhaps this was a good idea in the first place," she said.

I wasn't sure if it was meant to be a compliment or not, but it cut at me and I felt like shouting out 'No, you made a horrible mistake! Let me fight with you again!'

She must have caught the words in my eyes, the glint of tears, the pleading, the begging. She sighed and turned on her heel. She was always speaking to me as she walked away now. "Sumire, your training today is in five minutes."

That was all. She closed the door to her room. There was nothing but silence.

"Strike higher than that, Sumire! You won't kill anything when you swipe at their legs!"

It was the only part of Lucia that she took a moment to protect with her dagger. If I struck at her stomach, chest, or head, she was faster than lightning. I might as well have been trying to attack her through a brick wall. My frustrations were mixed with my sadness, because I knew that she wouldn't let me fight with her if I couldn't even cut her.

She was getting angrier than me, her visible eye burning into mine and making me want to run into a corner and hide. Her words were daggers themselves, sharper than the one she used to carve into me that was thankfully blunt. "Damn it, try harder! Don't close your eyes! Just go with your instincts!"

Go with my instincts? They were telling me to run to the bathroom and vomit up more blood. Surely it would release this disgusting feeling at the bottom of my stomach.

Today, though, was different. After last night's episode where I had lost blood in the sink, I had felt different. It wasn't just pain, aching, and nausea. Today my body was dead. Every movement I made was limp and slow, my muscles empty of all energy and strength. I didn't feel tired like I had before. Instead, I felt on the verge of dying on the spot. Everything was surreal. I felt like I was floating, sometimes heading away from this room as though I was watching myself as I disappeared into the darkness.

"Hey, open your eyes!" Lucia's sharp voice brought me back to reality. I had been standing with my eyes shut, my concentration elsewhere. I wondered what I must have looked like, frightened like a child with her eyes screwed shut tightly.

Lucia didn't wait for me to recover. No virus would if we were on a mission. She struck me in the ribs, the blow harsh and sudden. I could left my side throbbing and burning.

"That's what happens when you don't pay attention," she said coldly, readying for the next strike. I could see her hand poised, her face serious, but I couldn't make a movement of my own. I was frozen to the spot, but not with fear. I was frozen with shock.

I couldn't take a breath.

At first I thought it had been the blow from her dagger, but it wasn't possible. She knew where to strike to cause such an effect, and she would never do that to me despite our friendship's situation. So it had to be the illness. I would have rathered vomit blood again, feel my head about to split, have my stomach want to rip itself apart.

I didn't want to die like this.

I began to sink slowly to the floor but I couldn't feel it. I might as well have been sinking through air, falling slowly, slowly, until something strong caught me around the back.

"Sumire!" Lucia gasped, her hands tight as she gripped at my shirt and brought me down gently. "What is it?"

I had no more sensations. All sound was echoing in my head painfully. The world was a blur, shuddering with every movement. I knew I wouldn't see anything before long. I focused on something, something to distract me as my I took in tiny gasps of air. Lucia's eye blue like the sea, always alert. I stared into it and as I faded I noticed something about her, something out of place. When I interpreted the look she wore on her face, my heart warmed. She looked worried, her face pale, distraught, her hands holding me carefully as though I would break. She had never looked so afraid before, not even in the face of a virus.

Then there was darkness.

_Lucia's POV_

Sumire went limp in my arms, slipping from my clutch to lay flat on the floor. My heart hammered in my chest as I flipped her onto her back. I cradled her head in my lap as I sat on my knees. She was breathing, and a small spark of relief surged through me. I had seen the fear in her face as she began to fall, and it had diminished all of the anger I held for her. Even now I could barely think of distrusting her as I stared down at her pale, motionless form.

"Sumire, please wake up!" I begged, for a moment barely able to believe that the small frightened voice belonged to me. "Sumire, wake up!" I was demanding now, slapping her face, desperate to see those eyes again

_She's really sick, _I thought as my stomach lurched. _And I didn't believe her. How she must hate me..._

_Sumire's POV_

Something was attacking me, hitting me in the face as I struggled to surface from the dark. I was terrified, knowing that he was near me, the virus, waiting, watching. Sure enough, his voice began to echo.

_Sumire, don't be afraid._

I was caught between two enemies, whatever was hitting me, and the virus. I floated between the two, unable to find another way out.

_Don't hide, Sumire. I know you're mind well now. I know all of your hiding places._

"Sumire, wake up!"

A familiar voice echoed. Lucia's voice. It beckoned to me, but as I forced myself up towards the voice, following it to consciousness, something grasped the leg of my unconscious form.

_Not so fast, Sumire._

The virus was holding onto me, clawing his way up my leg, his free hand gripping my shirt and clasping over my mouth and nose. I could breathe. The slapping became more insistent. I couldn't break free from him...

"Sumire!"

My eyes shot open and I sucked in a mouthful of air. Lucia stared down at me, her hand finally stilled against my cheek. She released a deep breath and shook her head. "Sumire, you idiot. You scared me."

I detected no malice in her voice, only relief. "S-sorry," I croaked. I felt so light, almost as though I were floating. I could only feel Lucia as she caught me around the shoulders and heaved me to my feet. It was all too fast, and the world swam before my eyes.

"I'm getting you to bed," she said with her face now blank. She practically carried me out of the training room. Her moment of relief had passed. Now she showed no emotion at all. Had I been imagining it?

"Sumire, you really are sick, aren't you?" she said. She wasn't asking, but she showed a flash of sadness. It hadn't been my imagination then. She finally believed me. I nodded my head, but didn't dare say 'I told you so.' I was just glad that she finally realised I wasn't lying. So, then, why did she suddenly look so mad?

Nahashi and Laura were both gone. I assumed they went shopping or hunting. I didn't have the energy to speak at all, so I just concentrated on taking small steps as Lucia kept me standing. She pulled me over to the door to our room, kicked it open, and led me to my old bed that had been abandoned for too long.

I climbed in beneath the covers and felt sleep coming on as soon as my head hit the pillow. I couldn't though, not with the virus invading my mind. Beside, would the chance come again when I had Lucia worrying over me? It was selfishly sweet.

She watched me for a few long moments, looking sad again with her arms crossed as she bit her lip. "Do you know what happened in there?" she asked after some time.

I believed that she trusted me now. "I fainted, right?"

"Do you know why?" she persisted, getting to the point.

I knew that she was sure it was more than just a normal sickness now. She was being gentle, her voice calm and collected, and I knew it was an effort, so I told her everything I could. I told her about the virus, about the night I deliberately spent awake, about the lack of concentration. I left out the blood. I didn't' want to alarm her. Now that she was sure of the truth, I didn't want her to be afraid of it. If she was scared, she would take drastic actions, and I felt that I owed it to her to solve this problem on my own. After all, even though she hadn't believed the reason, the weeks past had resulted in my truly being a burden.

She took in all of the information without a single emotion printed on her face. She was still like a statue, her eyes barely even moving from mine. Finally, she spoke. "Get some sleep. It will only be worse if you don't. If anything happens, I'll hear you and wake you up." She said nothing about what I had told her.

I was already slipping into sleep as she spoke. I fought against it. She didn't understand the terror and intimidation that laid in wait for me, but I couldn't fight to stay awake as I was pulled beneath the darkness.

I slept with Lucia standing over me, feeling protected at last.

_Lucia's POV_

She was finally asleep, my young friend Sumire, looking so weak and helpless. I gnawed so hard on my lip that I tasted coppery blood. Wincing at the sting of pain, I forced my thoughts back on what she had told me about her sickness.

"It's worse than I thought," I said aloud, watching her as she began to snore lightly. "Much worse..."

I had never heard of a virus having such an effect on a person. They couldn't poison, nor could they force themselves into ones mind. So how was it possible that this virus had indeed done these very things to her? I felt that need to protect her surge through me, something that hadn't left me since the day I met her. I had been the fool, refusing to see over her weaknesses and spot the reasons beyond.

I wished she could understand what I felt, the guilt and the shame. I sat at her side on the mattress, my head in my hands. She had suffered badly under the way I had acted, and the virus that was casing such havoc inside of her. By the sounds of the symptoms she had given me, things were serious indeed.

I didn't know why she hadn't told anyone else how truly bad it was, but I knew that she would have a good reason. She would be mad at me, but I had to tell Nahashi. He knew more about viruses than I did, so he was the best chance I had at finding out what would happen to Sumire. I felt I owed it to her, for no matter how angry she became at me for telling him, it could release her from the virus.

"I'm sorry, Sumire," I said quietly, moving off of the bed and stepping silently towards the door. "I trust you, but now you need to trust me."

Nahashi was in the library where he had been all day. I had expected Laura to be with him, as I hadn't seen her since we had returned, however she was vacant from the library as well.

"Where's Laura?" I asked, using this time to also think of how I would tell Nahashi about the virus that was effecting Sumire.

"Sumire made her a chocolate cake this morning," he said as he bent over a leather bound book at his reading desk. He seemed to be very interested in it for he didn't turn around as he replied. "She's been eating it all day in her room. She'll get a stomach-ache if she keeps it up."

It was just like her to eat an entire chocolate cake on her own and complain about the aftermath on her stomach later. What I was worried about was the fact that Sumire had baked her an entire cake when she was this sick.

"When did Sumire bake it?" I asked.

Nahashi looked up to finally greet me with his sparkling eyes. "Now that I think about it, she must have gotten up really early. Laura is always up before the rest of us, and she was already half way through the cake when I woke up. I wonder if she slept last night."

_He knows that she doesn't sleep, _I realised. "It must make the sickness work for her, missing nights of sleep."

Nahashi's eyebrows rose. "Since when do you believe her?" There was a cold touch in his voice that was like a shard of ice plunging into my heart.

"I know," I said, sitting down opposite him at the table. "I've been terrible to her, all because I'm too damn stubborn."

He didn't reply, his way of agreeing without starting any trouble.

"I didn't mean to," I persisted, fighting for my case. "She hasn't been with us for long, and she has had trouble fitting in to the new lifestyle. How could I have known that she wasn't just trying to escape her fate and..." I trailed off. Nahashi was staring at me intensely.

"Sumire is afraid of what she is, Lucia," he said calmly. "She is afraid of this new life, her berserker form, and _you. _She wants to please you so much because she wants to be your friend, but you make it hard for her because you are so willing to distrust her and leave her in the cold. Lucia, you clearly care about her for coming to me to talk about her sickness, so you have to prove it to her or she'll never become strong."

I sat in silence, soaking up all of his words. It all made sense now, why she didn't fight as hard as I wanted her to, why she was always so tense around me. It also explained why she hadn't told Nahashi about the virus. _She wants to beat it on her own to be strong. How could I be so blind?_

"So what did you come here to tell me? Did something happen?" He sounded concerned now, giving me his full attention as he snapped the book shut.

I had planned to tell him everything, but if he was worried already, it would come as a shock. Nothing good could come from a virus making someone sick and possessing their dreams. I decided to work one step at a time. "She fainted when she was training with me. She looked terrible, so that's when I realised that she really was sick."

"It took that much to convince you?" Nahashi stared at me incredulously, his eyes burning, but he controlled himself in a matter of seconds. He released a deep breath. "Is she alright?"

I swallowed nervously as he settled back down. "Yes, she's sleeping in her bed. Nahashi, I feel awful for the way I acted. I should have believed her all along, and it seems that her illness is worse than she has told anyone." he straightened up and waited for me to continue, so I let it all spill out. "Apparently she has been having dreams of a virus, and claims that he is making her sick."

I watched as Nahashi's eyes widened, and counted only two seconds until he was at one of the bookshelves, dragging down heavy volumes. I was silent whilst he flicked through, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration as he flicked through pages rapidly. "This... this is impossible!" he babbled over and over. "A virus? Are you sure?"

"That's what she said, and she used to have nightmares when she was in the room with me..." I trailed off, remembering how I had scolded her for keeping me up all night whilst she shivered and cried. She was the newest member of the vanguard, and needed me to take care of her. Is this how I portrayed myself as her protector and teacher? Leaving her to her horrors on her own? I was feeling worse by the minute.

After some time of pity and frustration, I jerked back to reality in shock. Nahashi had thrown one of the books to the ground in all of his anger. "Not a thing! I haven't even heard if a virus getting into someone's mind!"

I knew he was trying hard because he cared for Sumire. In the short time she had been here, we had only created a thin bond, but nonetheless I considered her a friend. I should have been taking it more seriously than beating myself up. "We have to do something before things get worse than fainting spells and sleepless nights."

Nahashi stared at me hard, and I knew that he was thinking deeply. Slowly, he rose his head and frowned. "I herad of a story once that a certain breed of virus used to fight by using the victims mind. They would lure them out once they had them weakened. This may be one of these cases, but..."

"But?" I pressed.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "They were all wiped out. They aren't the best of fighters so if the victim wasn't weak enough, they killed them. There weren't many then, and so the numbers fell to zero pretty soon."

"But one of them must have survived!" I yelled. "Nahashi, that must be it! So we find it and kill it and it'll be done with!"

"It isn't that simple."

Why wasn't anything that simple in this life of a virus hunter? I sank back into my seat, realising I had risen in my victorious cry. "What is it, then?"

He looked deflated as his eyes lifted to mine. "When they take hold of the victims mind, that victim is already dead. They only have a certain amount of time until..."

My heart almost stopped. "There... there has to be a way to stop it..."

He released a deep breath and stared down at his hands in silence. I felt as though the world was crashing around me. Sumire would die? I suddenly wanted to race up to the room just to see her breathing, just to wake her and have her stare at me with those fear filled eyes.

"If we find it fast enough we can take it's blood and make a serum then we can give it to Sumire. However, we have to be fast if she is at the stage of bleeding. That means it is too late to save her."

"Stage of... bleeding?" I echoed. "What's that?"

"Does it involve her coughing up blood?" Laura's voice came into the room and we turned to see her standing in the doorway. her hands covered in chocolate and she looked a little larger than she had before, but her face was pale.

"How did you find that out?" Nahashi asked, his voice urgent. "Laura, what happened?"

She hated it when he raised his voice. She leaned heavily against the door frame, understanding that something was terribly wrong. "Last night Sumire was in the bathroom. I head her coughing and came in and..."

I already knew what she was going to say before she said it. I had to catch myself as I slipped from the chair.

Her words echoed in the room. "She was coughing up blood."


	4. Chasing Shadows

**Chapter Four**

**Chasing Shadows**

_Sumire's POV_

I realised I was asleep, but the surface was too far above. I stared at it through the nothingness, the form I took in my consciousness wrapped in an innocent white dress, my hair tied with a black bow. I could see myself dressed like this, and knew what was to follow.

_There you are, Sumire. I've been waiting for you to come._

I could see him through the darkness, the shadow of the man that haunted me. There was no light, only darkness, complete and suffocating as it pressed into me from all sides and angles. Ropes of the blackness coiled up my arms and legs and held me tightly. I was held in place as he approached, unable to move away from this man of nightmares.

_Now now, struggling won't do you much good. Not with my hold being this tight around you._

I looked down at my legs. The ropes were tightening. I could feel it outside of my consciousness as well. He was squeezing me the more I tried to escape, so I let myself hang limply. He lessened his hold on me, but the dark ropey tendrils remained nevertheless.

_That's better. _He was close enough to reveal his features, the long, dark hair, the glinting eyes, the smirk on his face. _Now you can listen to me properly._

I didn't want to hear what he had to say, but I couldn't refuse to listen. In this world of unconsciousness, my will was weak and useless. It was like trying to swim upstream when I fought against this virus man. I couldn't block out his voice with thoughts as he came closer. I could only open myself up to him and hear his words.

_I think we are ready for the next step now, _he said, amusement in his voice. _I think we're ready to meet._

A tremor ran through my unconscious form and my eyes widened. I echoed his words in disbelief. "Ready to meet?"

He nodded, his hair waving about him as though he were underwater. In fact, his attire was rippling, his dark coat and pants, his red tie and white shirt beneath. _Yes. After all, I have been waiting for too long to meet you in person. Now I think you are ready._

I didn't feel ready or even _willing _to meet him. He scared me enough in my dreams. Seeing him in real life meant I would be surely drawn into a trap. I couldn't. I wouldn't.

_If you come to see me, all of this will end," _he promised, his smile fading. He looked more serious than he ever had. _Your illness will be gone, and you will be free. You will be free forever from my hold._

I had never been as smart as Lucia. I had always been the one walking into traps, and she would have to yank me back from death. She always yelled at me. 'Sumire, concentrate! It was obviously a trap! I could see it from a mile away!' What would she say now? Would she tell me to go ahead with it and get cured? She would want to come, but that wasn't an option. It was clear that I had to be there alone. The man didn't need to say so. The way he spoke told me that this was a personal meeting, and I didn't want to drag anyone else into danger.

_You will come, I trust, Sumire? _His smile was back on his face, his teeth shining white against the darkness.

I swallowed deeply and uttered the first words I had since the nightmare had taken me. "Where?"

An image came into my mind, blocking out all other views. I gasped and would had reeled had I been awake with my feet planted on the ground. It was so unexpected, but I drank the image into my memory before it faded.

"The park," I said, the white picket fence surrounding a lush green area with trees at the edges. The swings had been taken out years ago due to dangers to children, but people always went there to rest. At night, though, no one would see us, for it was darkened by the shadows of the trees, and too far from any houses. It was the perfect place for a trap, yet I didn't want to miss my chance to be cured. What to do...

_You will meet me here as soon as you wake, _he said, his voice pressing close to the edge of demanding. _If you don't, I will never leave you alone and you will never be free._

He released me from the darkness, the ropes sliding away form my limbs and leaving me to swim to the surface of my consciousness.

I woke with a jump, leaping up as though my soul truly had been thrust back into my body. I was shaking and sweating with the sheet tight around my arms and legs where the ropes had been. They ached and I pulled the covers away, finding imprinted bruises from the black tendrils lining my skin. He was serious about this meeting, it seemed. He had even left me a reminder to convince me it wasn't a dream, or maybe he was taunting me.

Either way, I had to get moving. I wouldn't be left under his suffering hold. I yanked out a jacket from the closet and shrugged it on, pausing to look at Lucia's clothes and wonder what she would say on the matter. She would want to come, that was for sure, but it would be too dangerous for the both of us. I shut the closet and turned to the window. I would sneak out and head to the park. I still had my gun tucked into the hidden belt of the jacket to turn into a berserker and my dagger. I knew that in my state I wouldn't be able to do much against him if it came to attacks, but I didn't feel safe enough going unarmed.

"This is it," I breathed to myself, unlatching the window and climbing out. The night greeted me with a chill that lifted my jacket and crept up my spine. I winced and slipped out to the grass that was not far below. I landed in a crouch and turned to glance back at the house.

"This won't be the last time I see it," I told myself firmly, my fears already gnawing at me. My heart hammered as I forced myself to turn away_. _"I will come back... Lucia."

I headed out into the night, disappearing into the shadows as I headed to the virus whom would be my cure.

Lucia sat with Nahashi supporting her, his arm snaked around her waist. Laura's words had knocked her from her feet quiet literally.

"Sumire will die, won't she?" she gasped, the words bleeding inside of her. "Is there anything we can do?"

Laura looked stricken, her face white. "If I had known it would be this bad..."

Lucia's turned to glare as Nahashi, her eyes pleading behind the burning rage. "Tell me! Tell me what we can do!"

Nahashi's face was lined with sadness. He released Lucia as she stumbled away angrily. His struggled to keep his voice strong. "She has entered the stage of bleeding, which means her body is deteriorating. The goal of these monsters is to take them when they are weak, and they wait for this exact stage for it is when the body cannot take anymore. This is when they strike."

"Strike how?" Lucia demanded. "What do they do?"

He shook his head. "Lucia, there is nothing you can do!"

"Tell me!"

He let out a long, deep breath, then resting into a seat at the table. He messaged his temples as he explained. "They finish them off themselves, then once the victim has stopped breathing, they consume them."

"Consume?" Laura asked, looking sick to the stomach as she pictured her friend being eating by a virus. She clamped a hand to her mouth and gagged.

"They use the darkness to break down their bodies," Nahashi explained. "And the darkness enters their own bodies and strengthens them."

Lucia's mind raced and a single memory rose above all other thoughts. "Sumire, she said that the virus in her nightmares said 'come to the darkness' over and over." She was shaking, but she refused to lose it let. She never gave up. Her eyes turned to Nahashi's, full of resolve. "It isn't too late. He hasn't consumed her yet."

Nahashi looked defeated and laid his hands down on the wood of the table. "Lucia, there isn't anything we can do. Her body cannot last much longer."

"I know that!" she shot back angrily, already heading towards the door. "But anything is better than having him kill her himself and take her into the darkness. I won't let that happen!" She disappeared out of the room, and not a heartbeat later Nahashi and Laura were racing after her up.

Lucia crashed through the door to the bedroom she shared with Sumire. Her eyes flicked to the bed, and upon seeing it nothing but an empty mess of sheets, she turned to the window. It was open, and she felt her legs shake beneath her.

"I can't believe this!" she growled, hiding her fear as best she could behind rage. "Of all of the times for her to lose it and run away, she chooses tonight!"

Nahashi ran to the window and looked out over the darkened street. The stars did little to light the darkness, and he slammed a palm against the window pane. "Damn, the virus has probably called her to meet him already. He is ready for the next stage..."

"No." Lucia spoke the word with such conviction that both Laura and Nahashi turned to her in surprise. She looked more driven than she ever had before. The calm demeanour was gone, the mask finally broken. Emotion was flowing out of her, anger, sadness, fear. She was trembling, her teeth biting into her lip as she shut her eyes tightly. "No, he will not take her from me! He has put her through too much!"

"Lucia..." Laura took a step towards her and daringly took her hand. It was limp and lifeless, but she squeezed it until Lucia's fingers curled around her own. "This isn't over. I'll come with you, and we'll find her, alright?" She turned to Nahashi whom nodded.

"Yes, Lucia. We'll both come with you."

Lucia had always felt alone on the inside. The pain of it had lessened when Sumire had come along, but it had always been there. This was the first time when she realised that she wasn't on her own in whatever unimaginable plan she had. Both of these dear people to her would come into danger and help her do something that was unlikely to ever work. To her, that meant the world.

"Alright," she said, trying hard to stop herself from crying. She looked towards the early stars outside of the window, knowing that somewhere beneath that darkening sky, Sumire was running to her death.

_Sumire, I will being you back here, and nothing is going to stand in my way._


	5. Regret

**Chapter Five**

**Regret**

_Lucia's POV_

The car ride was painfully slow. I sat in the back seat, my eyes staring out at the world as it fell beneath the darkness of the night. No longer was there a light to guide my missing friend Sumire, and my nerves rushed through me like a torrent.

"Lucia, you're shaking."

I turned to see Laura watching me closely, a frown of worry on her face. "You're shaking," she repeated, pointing to my hands as they trembled on my knees. "It'll be alright."

Her reassurance didn't get through to me. All I could hear was the sound of my hurried breathing as I shivered. I was truly losing all control over my emotions, but I felt deserved it. After all, everything had been my fault.

Nahashi's eyes met mine in the rear view mirror as he drove. "Sumire will be okay. She can take care of herself when she really needs to, no matter how sick she is."

I didn't believe him. I had seen her at her weakest over the days that had passed, yet I hadn't believed her. That was why she was out here. She had run from me to this virus in hope of being saved by the one that had damned her. It was senseless, but she had been desperate. She had no chance if we couldn't find her.

"It's my fault," I choked out, the words filled with the sadness that was drowning me inside. "Everything was my fault."

Laura's arms went around me. Usually she would never have even considered using such a friendly act on me, but at that moment neither of us seemed to care. As she held onto me, I could hear her sniffling in my ear. She felt the possible loss of Sumire cutting into her as well. I wept onto her shoulder silently, wishing that this would all end.

_If only I hadn't called her weak, _I told myself in my mind over and over again. _If only I had believed her and tried to help her. She didn't trust me..._

Would she ever trust me again?

_Sumire's POV_

My feet slipped on the wet, dew grass. I fell to my knees, gasping as my hands slid against the ground. I had been running for too long with this lingering illness. I needed a moment to breathe. A spot of rain fell against the back of my neck and I tensed. He could be anywhere near, and I was hyper aware of everything in my surroundings.

I stood back up and steadied myself, brushing the grass from my pants, and wiping the raindrop away. The night was cold and wet, a terrible night for facing an enemy that could be leading me to my death. I knew the chance I was taking, but I was still confident that if I turned back, I would soon be dead anyway. His cure was the only opportunity at life I had left.

I needed to hear a friendly voice that I could trust out here in the dark, but I didn't trust the voice I feared I would hear reply if I called. I stayed in the silence, my body shaking from more than the cold. I found myself wondering about Lucia, wondering what actions she was taking, and wondering if she would come at all.

_Stupid! _I cried in my mind. _She'll come! She cares, I know she does! _It was more convincing saying it in my head than out loud, and I basked in the comfort the words offered me as they echoed inside of me. That warmth turned to cold though, as a shadow appeared before me in the trees ahead.

The man stepped out, but I had known moments before that it was him. He smiled, his teeth gleaming in the dark. He held his arms out as though welcoming me. "I am glad you came. You made the right decision."

I swallowed and forced my mouth to form words. "Yes, I came. I didn't have another choice."

His grin widened and his eyes flashed. He came closer, each step slow and deliberate. "That's right, but... was it the right decision? How do you know this isn't a trap?"

I could feel sweat rolling across my forehead as I asked myself that very question. "I told you, I had to come. Now please." I lowered my head in a small bow of respect, the only curtsey I could think of to sway his decision. "Please heal me."  
He laughed, light at first, then louder, edged with cruelty. "Yes, yes, I will heal you alright... but perhaps not in the harmless way you expected." Before I could make a move, he was in front of me almost like magic. His speed was immeasurable. "I will break you down with the darkness until your body ceases to pulse with life. Then your power will be mine, and you will be free in the darkness forever."

I felt my eyes widen and my heart plummet. My hands curled into fists at my sides. My feet slipped back away from him. He watched every moment with flicking eyes alert like a cats. My opponent was prepared, and before I could take a breath he struck.

His hand was around my throat in an instant, most of my breath already lost in a gasp. His nails pierced the skin and I felt the warm slither of blood run down my neck. I gripped at his arm, tightening around the thickness. He smirked. I was weak and pathetic in his eyes, and he wouldn't release me.

"You should have known that it would be a trap," he said thoughtfully, his voice too kind to match his actions as he threatened to strangle me to death. "Hmm... Perhaps you did know and wished to change my mind? Foolish. You are still but a child."

I had faced death many times in my life before. Every mission I went on could be my very last. Most of the time I made mistakes, and I had to experience the few seconds in which you face your killer, a virus disguised as an innocent, or the usual blobby beasts, coming at me with the same glint of hatred in their eyes. I always felt too frozen to be afraid. The fear came afterwards when I had time to think about what had happened. Here though, in this park, with my life fading away with every failed breath, I felt fear gripping me for every second that counted down.

I could feel my death approaching.

"Now it is the time," the virus said with a psychopathic smile printed on his face. He had lost his human look, and resembled the monster that he truly was."Come to the darkness, and let me have your strength in exchange."

Never. I would never give in. Lucia wasn't here to save me, but that meant that now was my chance to fight back and prove to her that I was a berserker, a hunter, a survivor.

I kicked out with my leg, the edge of my boot catching the man in the chest. He stumbled back, instantly releasing me in the shock. I fell heavily into the grass, for the first time that night found myself thanking the rain for soaking the earth, but I only had a moment until the man had recovered and his hand caught my ankle. He squeezed tightly enough to make me cry out. I felt the bone burning as his pressure threatened to break it.

"Give in to the darkness, or I will rip you apart piece by piece!" he roared, his free hand gripping at the back of my shirt.

I lashed out in my panic, rolling onto my stomach and flipping my foot over to kick him sharply in the face, a move I had learnt from Lucia. I felt the impact through the thickness of my boot and he fell back with a grunt.

"I won't give in to your darkness!" I growled, scrambling to my feet. I ran harder than I ever had before as soon as I was able. I tripped, stumbled, and slid across the grass in my rush, and in moments I felt him behind me. His hand reached out and caught my arm in a crushing grip and he threw himself into me. The pair of us fell to the ground in a heap of fists and feet until something hit the side of my head and everything went black.

I opened my eyes to see his face looming directly over mine, a smirk on his face. There was nothing around him but darkness, and I wondered if I were dreaming. I couldn't hear or feel anything. All senses were gone. All there was, was him, the virus, and my enemy.

_"Here we are." _His voice was soft, almost a whisper. It echoed in my mind, not my ears. He was in my head, the centre of my sanity. _"I told you I would bring you to the darkness. Can you feel your power fading? Can you feel yourself falling into me?"_

Now I realised. He had consumed me with the darkness, and I could feel my life fading away slowly, losing strength with every beat of my heart. He was killing me out in the real world whilst he taunted me in my mind as I slipped into the shadows of his hold.

"No..." I forced the word out of my mouth, hearing it in my ears as one sense returned. "I... won't..."

Inside of me a held a flame of courage, and that flame had burned away in the depths of my heart where my fears and weaknesses kept it away. I was ready to unleash it now, ready to be brave and banish the darkness around me. I reached out with all of my might, forcing my hand to lift. I pushed it through his ghostly form and reached out for a light I knew was there.

In darkness, there was always a light.

I opened my eyes and saw the real world. The starry sky, the leaves in the wind, and his face twisted as he held his hands over my body just above my shirt by an inch. His eyes shot open as he realised I had escaped, and before I could move his hand went about my throat again.

"How?" he gasped. "How did you escape?"

I didn't need to answer him. He had lost his humility long before, and would never understand the power of one's will. I knew that was only one chance I had left. I had to become a Berserker. I could feel my life still draining away, past the sickness and the weight of battle. He was draining me even as his hands pulled away from the ritual.

"It's too late!" he barked, his hand tightening over my windpipe. "Your life will be over in moments!"

In that moment, my weakness began to climb over the courage I had unleashed. It was like the dark tendrils he had gripped at me with in my dream, reaching up and covering me, cutting out all of the light. I was fading, my strength seeping away into the night. I had one more chance.

I pulled my gun from my sheath, stared at him through the gleam of the metal as I pressed it to my head, and fired.

Blackness again. His face twisted with rage the last image to appear in my mind. I couldn't feel, think, or surface again. I was dead, but I was conscious of the fact. This was the thin line between nothingness and reality, between life and death. This was the realms of the berserker.

All I could feel was power pumping into me like blood. Thick and strong, it gave me the strength I needed to wake up into life, and I reopened my eyes with all of my senses, heightened and aware. I could smell the grass and the leaves, and hear the birds and bugs in the ear. Before me was the virus, his eyes wide, every detail on his face so clear to me.

I wasn't interested in that, though. I was interesting in the beating of his heart that pounded in my ears, and my passion for the kill, the need to stop that beat, consumed me. I was no longer Sumire, but a monster.

I straightened my fingers tightly together, the tips becoming a thin point. My memories and thoughts struggled to make it past the torrent of power that surged through me. I was a machine built to kill viruses like this. I struck him, my hand sailing towards his chest, but as my fingernails pressed to the skin, his hand swiped it away then with lightning speed slapped me across the face with such a force that I stumbled and fell backward.

The virus had regained his confidence. He smirked as he walked towards me, his feet practicably gliding over the grass. Slowly, he opened his arms. "You see? You are too weak. I have taken too much of your life. Soon you will cease to breathe."

Even in my berserker form, I could feel fear gnawing at me. My strength began to ebb away, the urge to kill the virus, the anger and the rage. I was converting back to human, slowly, but surely. My emotions and my thought became their own, the wall breaking and letting them gush in. I sank further into the grass, trying to hold onto my consciousness as the sky fell down towards me, the stars disappearing the darkness becoming too consuming.

"Sumire!"

I thought I had imagined it, that scream, Lucia's voice. I closed my eyes, falling into the dark as the virus came to stand over me.

"You are dying, Sumire. But there isn't enough gasping and begging for my liking." He lifted a hand, his fingers surrounded by rings of darkness. It pulsed along his arm, then around his entire body. Slowly, they snaked through the grass and reached me. As they latched on, I could feel the icy cold. My chest tightened and it became hard to breathe. I gasped against my will, but I wouldn't beg. I swallowed, tried to take a proper breath, but it wouldn't come.

"Sumire!"

Again, I dreamed I heard her voice. A smile spread on my face despite the dying embers of my flame of life. I had always wondered what death was like. I never thought Lucia's would be the voice I would hear.

"That's right. Let the darkness take your life away. You will drift into it like a feather on the winds. Then, your strength will be given to someone truly worthy."

It was the last insult I was ever hear, I realised, but he was right. Denying it was pointless. I had failed, yet again, and now I was paying for it. Now Lucia didn't have to be the one to get hurt for me. Now would I be forgiven?

"Get away from her!"

This time I knew I wasn't imagining her. My eyes that had drifted shut opened so suddenly that my breath caught and wouldn't come again for a moment. I began to gasp and splutter, lacking the air to stay awake for much longer. Stars danced above me, brighter than those in the sky. Softly I choked, "Lucia?"

I gunshot and a flash of yellow sparks. Droplets of blood splattered my face and the virus jumped back, clutching his bleeding arm. His mouth was hanging open in shock, and then he was lost to my sight as a wave of aqua hair caught all of my attention.

It was her, Lucia. She had come. The perfect ending to my life was seeing her as the darkness took me away on it's wings.

"Sumire..."

I was too far gone to hear anymore.


	6. Shining Light

**Chapter Six**

**Shining Light**

_Lucia's POV_

Seeing Sumire collapsed In the grass, gasping for air as her killer loomed over her body broke the barrier I held between control and instinct. Rage exploded and blinded me with its hot white purity. It seared my sanity and took over my body completely. I ran at the filthy virus, loading my gun as my feet pounded against the wet grass, and fired. The shot hit the man, a burst of blood coming with the impact. He staggered back, clutching at his arm that had shielded his chest.

The beast inside of me that was made of hatred and anger roared, making my chest rumble. My eyes flicked over to Sumire, tearing away from the man for a second. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn't gone yet. I knew what a body looked like, fresh or not, and she still held onto life.

"Laura, Nahashi! Tend to Sumire!" I yelled out to them behind me, returning my gaze to the virus as he smiled through the pain in his arm. "Let me finish this bastard."

It seemed that everything this night was making the virus smile. His lips curled into the hideous grin that made the monster within me claw at my insides. "My, my, you must be Lucia. I have heard of you when I pulled her into the darkness. She doesn't realise, but she screams your name when she is alone.."  
I clenched my fists until the nails drew blood in the flesh. "You're unlucky that I came. I won't be exterminating you gently, you beast. I'll be leaving you to bleed out slowly and painfully, and you will feel the darkness for yourself." I had to struggle to stop myself from screaming the words. If I did, he would notice my fear that was very real. I could feel it's cold clutch over my heart. I could feel Sumire's life fading away.

"Let her come to the darkness. It will be peaceful, and she won't have to suffer," he said, still smiling with every word. "You can't save her. You know this. The darkness cannot be beaten."

All my life I had grown up convinced of this very fact, that the darkness could not be banished. I had always been drowning beneath secrets and isolation, whether by my own will or not. I knew what the darkness felt like, maybe not physically, but mentally it was all I knew. Tonight, though, everything was going to change. Tonight I would banish the darkness from Sumire, and I would believe that somewhere inside of me there was a light. I would believe this because, pure and simply, it the only way to save her.

The virus seemed to read my mind, or perhaps I was that obvious. "It is easy to tell yourself it can be done, but finding the light in oneself is the hardest challenge of life."

He was right, but he hadn't counted on one thing. "You don't understand how much I care for her, do you? Because if you did, you would never had chosen to take her power, cause I know that in order to save her, I can do anything."

He sighed and shook his head. "I don't understand humans. So full of emotions, making ridiculous promises to themselves and others."

I didn't have time to hear him ramble on as my friend died. I could see her in the corner of my eye, her head in Nahashi's lap as Laura studied her breathing closely. They were both afraid. Neither of them believed she would make it.

But I did.

"You're an annoyance," I spat at the virus. "It's time you left my friend alone."

I fired three quick shots. All of them hit, but he was lightning fast. He caught them all in his arms that seemed to slow him down very little. He raced at me as his forearms bled.

I had to admit, he was one of the strongest virus's I had ever encountered. As soon as his fist buried into my stomach, I almost lost consciousness. Black spotted my vision and I found myself sailing through the air. I fought through the shock of the attack and twisted my body. I saw him through the haze, grinning so widely that his teeth were bared like an animal. I aimed and fired before I hit the ground, and the bullet drove into his shoulder.

The wet grass was hard beneath the moist cushioning and felt like a brick wall beneath me. My body hit it three successive times before I stopped and lay still. I could barely catch my breath as my ribs ached and shuddered. My heart pounded in my ears, taking away all other sounds. But I held onto my consciousness and tilted my gun up to fire again, knowing that he was near. I could feel his disturbing presence, and sure enough he cried out and fell to his knees as the bullet hit him in the stomach.

I struggled to my feet before he could react and jumped back a few steps, aiming again. He sneered at me, no longer overconfident and pleased with himself. There was no way he could reach me in time before I fired the killing shot, but he tried anyway. He launched himself like a rocket, his body a blur as he ran with his hand out, the fingers clawed. I had a second to make my decision, to move or to fire. I trusted my instincts and pulled the trigger.

Blood splattered over the grass. His expression was frozen in a grimace as he fell to his side lifelessly. I had fallen to my knees without realising, my body drained already with fear and panic. The battle had been over in seconds, but he had been a harder opponent that I had told myself to expect. He had been quick, strong, and fearless.

Nahashi's voice was soothing over my deafening heart beat. "Lucia, I'll take a vial of his blood. You need to be with Sumire."

I looked up at him, his words procuring questions. "What do you mean 'I need to be with her.'" It sounded like a goodbye and my eyes flashed over to her. She was lying flat in the grass, motionless and pale. Laura was hugging her knees to her chest, sobbing.

Nahashi let out a deep breath that almost caught as he spoke. "I think it is too late, but perhaps she will breathe for long enough to receive the blood. For now, stay with her. Perhaps it will help her hold on."

My heart hammered inside of my chest, but I couldn't hear anything. I felt a raw fear that was so strong I almost allowed myself to cry in front of Nahashi. I couldn't do that. I couldn't let the darkness of my mind enter my heart. As long as she was breathing, there was hope.

I made my way towards Sumire, my steps slow and forced. If I saw her die, I was unsure of what it would do to me. The unknown scared me more than anything in my life, and now I faced it.

Kneeling at Sumire's side, a tear slid down my cheek. I didn't wipe it away. I took Sumire's hand in my own, her skin cold and clammy. Laura closed her eyes and whimpered against her knees.

Was I too late?

I bent down over Sumire, staring into her face, willing her eyes to open. "Sumire, I'm so sorry," I whispered, and before Laura could cry out, I grasped the bottom lip of my eye patch and pulled it away from my golden eye.

The world pulsed before me in a livid burst of light. All I could see was Sumire, burning and throbbing in the brightness. It was almost too much. My head pounded and I lost all sense of reality. I had found the source of my light, but beyond it was darkness. I had to be fast, or I would fall into the black.

I remembered when Sumire had touched me once with my eye-patch fallen to the ground. She had experienced what I saw, my inner darkness, but she had told me the first thing she saw was light. I never told her, but those words made me feel stronger and safer, more so than I ever had before in my life. Now I was going to save her with my light. I would force it into her, something that I knew I could do now my touch. I gripped her hand even tighter, and closer both of my eyes.

Almost instantly, I fell into Sumire's soul.

Darkness. It was everywhere, flaming and burning, echoing screams of terror that I recognised as hers. I searched for her, using my minds eye. She was floating in the middle of the dark, a faint aura of light around her. It was fading as she cried out. She was losing to the darkness, and I knew what would happen if that light went out. Her life would be snuffed out as well.

I pushed myself towards her, reaching out with the desperation I held. I called her name, my voice echoing around her faintly. She couldn't hear me over the roaring of her own fears that projected in her screams. It was almost deafening, and I faltered in this realm.

A memory pushed itself into my mind. It appeared before me, between Sumire and myself. I saw her falling in the middle of battle, the illness claiming her for the moments that proved long enough to put her in danger of a virus. I killed it and saved her life, but as she apologised, I yelled. I told her she was weak, I told her she was useless. The memory had been tampered with by my own guilt, but the effect was the same on her. She felt my hatred burning and convinced herself she was alone.

I knew what it felt like to be alone, and I banished the memory. "Sumire!" I cried out. "Sumire, I'm so sorry!"

She didn't answer. She only cried blackened tears as her light became little more than a faint wisp.

"Sumire, you aren't weak!" I cried, forcing my voice over her own cries. "You're strong, and you're strong enough o beat the darkness."

Finally, she replied. "I can't! I need light, but I have nothing! I have no light, Lucia! Everything is black!" She finished with a scream as she bent over, clutching at herself in pain as tendrils of darkness began to filter through her hazy light. They latched onto her, and my anger drove me even closer to her.

"Sumire, use my light!" I commanded, reached through to her with the brightness trailing behind. I lit up the shadows that crept closer, forcing them away, and proved it to myself that light banished the darkness. Sumire's eyes widened as I came closer and banished the darkness, but the tendrils continued to grip her and pull at her life. She wouldn't last. Even now I could see the spark disappearing from her eyes.

"No!" I barked. "Fight it! I'm here! I'll save you!" I had never felt so despairing before, so passionate to save a life. It was now or never if I wanted to see her alive again, so I threw myself at her and embraced her in my light.

I could feel her in my arms, her body pulsing with the last shine of strength it had. I held her closely as we floated amongst the fighting light and darkness until there was a burst of brightness and everything was gone.

It was just me and Sumire, falling through the void, our hands gripping tightly. I turned to her as he descended. There was no more light around her. She was gone. She had been beaten. I felt a cry building up in my chest, but my feet found a glass floor and I landed. I reached out with my arms and caught her, lowering her to the floor with me. I placed her in my lap, looking down at her lifeless body.

"She's not breathing," I heard Nahashi say from the surface in the world of reality. "Lucia, come back to us. It's too late."

His voice echoed around me, and I tried to block it out. "No! It's not too late."

"Lucia..." Laura spoke now, her voice thick with tears. "You need to put your eye-patch back on. We need to go home. It's too late."

I stared down at her, my closest friend, my dear Sumire. I couldn't let it end like this, not after everything both of us had been through. I wouldn't. I bent down over her and brought my lips to her. I forced my air into her, willing her to breathe. As I gave her my life, I also gave her my light. I closed my eyes and tightened my hand around hers. I allowed the darkness to pulse into me as I breathed my air into her lungs. The dark flowed into me like blood, but it was too thick to allow me focus. I almost stopped breathing myself as all movements and actions became too much. My strength began to seep away quickly, and I felt my hand shaking as it held onto Sumire.

"I won't let you take me," I said to the darkness in my mind, the black swirling and swallowing the light I held. I could see it disappearing, I could feel Sumire's lungs filling with air, I could feel her hand twitching in mine, and I used everything I had to combat the black that stained my heart and soul.

"Sumire, fight with me, and no amount of darkness can defeat our light."

Both of our wills and determinations clutched together inside of me. I could feel her holding onto me tightly, embrace warming me against the cold, her touch filling me with relief against fear. I faced the dark that pulsed inside of me, and summoned up all of the light I had.

The last thing I remembered before I woke back to reality was the light, brighter than I had ever seen it before.

"Lucia..."

The voice that filtered through the nothingness of my consciousness sounded too familiar to ignore. I thrashed, reaching for the surface and the awakened world.

"Lucia, it's okay... I'm okay..."

"Sumire?" I opened my eyes a crack, unsure of what I would see. Would it be light or darkness? It was hard to tell if I had won.

Sumire was smiling as she looked down at me. It was the brightest light of all.

"Thank goodness, Lucia!" she gasped, a tear falling from her eye and pattering against my cheek. "I was so worried! For a minute there you looked..." She sighed and shook her head, smiling. "I'm just glad your okay."

I stared at this girl, this girl who was always desperate to please me, always trying to be my friend. Everything I had done to her, all of the anger I had shown and the punishments I had forked onto her already full plate. She didn't deserve any of it, and I didn't deserve her friendship.

"Sumire," I whispered, my voice still weak from the ordeal. "I'm so sorry. Everything was my fault. I should have..." I trailed off as she pressed a finger to my lips. Slowly and carefully, she slid the eye patch back over my golden eye, and I finally saw Nahashi and Laura behind her. She meant so much to me that in all of the light that my golden eye offered, she took all of it in her brilliance. She truly was the dearest friend I could have.

"We almost lost the both of you," Nahashi said, his eyes downcast. "You took off your eye patch and used it to rid Sumire of the darkness, and then when she stopped breathing you started breathing for her."

Laura took over the story as Sumire helped me to sit up. "As soon as Sumire started gasping for air you collapsed in the grass and wouldn't wake up. We gave Sumire the blood, but she was more worried about you." Laura grinned at Sumire, rolling her eyes. "It was almost embarrassing to watch."

Sumire turned away sheepishly. "I was worried for a friend. After all, she went all the way into the darkness for me."

"And I would do it again." I cupped her chin and tilted her head towards mine so I could face her. "Sumire, please, forgive me for the past days of your illness. I was a terrible friend." I lowered my gaze and let out a deep breath, finding the words brought tears to my eyes. "I would never hate you, Sumire. Don't ever forget that."

Her arms went around me instantly, banishing the cold that the darkness had left in its wake. I held onto her. I would never let go. After all, she was prone to getting herself into trouble.


	7. Together

**Chapter Seven**

**Together**

I struck hard and fast, but my knife slid off the edges of Lucia's and she delivered a harsh kick to my stomach. I doubled over and breathed heavily against the floor. Her hand slid under my arm and she hauled me to my feet, clucking her tongue.

"Sumire, you'd better not be getting ill like before," she joked, smiling. "I don't want to have to battle your darkness and give you mouth-to-mouth again."

I took her joking as an opportunity and swiped at her neck. The tip of the blade scraped across her skin lightly. If the cover had been on, I would have drawn blood. The round was mine.

For a moment, she looked shocked, then she let out a deep breath and laid her hand on my shoulder. "Well done, Sumire. I should have been concentrating."

The pride of the win settled on my shoulders. "That's one."

"Against ten," she added sneakily, readying her knife and falling into an offensive stance. "Round twelve, get ready." She didn't like to lose, so I took her sudden seriousness as a warning.

Since that night when I had fallen , everything had become much better than it had been. Lucia had apologised so sincerely that she almost cried, and I agreed to forget about all of her harsh behaviour if she continued to teach me to fight. I knew that she had been considering against the idea, but I wasn't ready to let myself fall into the routine of having her save me again. I wanted to protect myself, and after reminding her of the difference it would have made in the park, she agreed.

Her sheathed knife jabbed me in the arm. I lost the round, but I wouldn't give up. I was back on my feet, ignoring the pulsing pain. "Next round. Ready?"

Lucia eyed me carefully, her stance falling for a moment. "Are you sure?" she asked. "It was only a few days ago that your life was hanging by a thread, remember?"

I sighed. She was always fussing like this now, but secretly, I enjoyed it. It proved her words, that she would always care for me and that we're always friends. I soaked in every word gratefully. "Don't worry about me, I feel fine."

She examined me carefully for a moment. "One more round, than we're finished for the day."

I knew better than to argue with the fact that it meant she had won. I took the final round deal, and lunged.

Knife clanged against knife, our eyes ever watching movements. I had been lucky that she had come to my rescue, and I had been lucky that I had a friend willing to put her life at risk for me. I wouldn't ever forget.

Her knife sped towards my throat, and my instincts kicked in. I ducked beneath her weapon and struck out at her ribs. I poked her with the tip of the knife, and she stumbled back in surprise. I had won the final match.

At first she was still shocked, then her face broke into a smile. "Well done! You beat me!"

I felt the pride rising inside of me like a warmth that filled the soul. I shrugged shyly. "You still won more rounds."

Lucia shook her head and held out a hand. "I give the win to you. You've been great today, despite still being exhausted. Take the win. Let's shake on it."

At first I was going to decline, then I saw the determination in her eyes, and I took her hand. "Alright then, but no complaining later."

She cocked her head to the side, frowning. "Since when do I complain?"

I laughed. When did she _not _complain? Living with her s difficult as it was for her to live with me. We balanced each other out though, and together we could survive anything, even the darkness.

"Daydreaming?" I blinked just as she snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Okay, bed time for you, miss." She crossed her arms like a mother trying to be strict.

My mouth fell open. "No way! What if a mission comes?"

Lucia raised a hand to stop me before I could say anymore. "You aren't coming on any missions, remember? We agreed that you were too weak because of that day."

"You, Nahashi, and Laura agreed, you mean," I corrected, pouting. "I didn't get a say."

Lucia sighed and shook her head, but I could see the tilted corner of her lips as she tried not to laugh. "Sumire, please..."

"Lucia, let me come. Just once, to prove that I'm ready," I begged. "If anything happens, I know that you'll protect me now."

She sighed again, but I could see the argument raging inside of her. She knew that I was right. "One mission to judge your performance. If anything goes wrong, you're not coming again until I'm certain."

A knock at the door caught our attention and we turned to see Nahashi entering. He called down to us from the doorway. "We have a client. Sounds like a heck of a mission, too."

My heart leapt and I turned to Lucia, grinning. "Looks like that mission's arrived!"

Her eyes pierced through me. Normally I would have been crippled by this look, but she had promised me. Seeing that she had no way of changing my mind, she let out a long breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're annoyingly stubborn."

"You're annoyingly motherly," I countered. "Honestly, I'll be fine."

She stood tall and stepped towards me. "Prove it to me. Race me upstairs to the client."

I couldn't face down one of Lucia's challenges. Without a second glance at her, I raced towards the stairs, her laughter echoing behind me.

I wanted it to always be like this. I always wanted to be smiling with Lucia, my dearest friend, and my light in the darkness. I would never leave her side.

THE END


End file.
